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Pace leads 2009 set top box sales, Motorola second
MUMBAI: Pace has raced ahead. The digital set top box (STB) manufacturer has zipped ahead of Motorola, emerging as the No 1 company to ship STBs globally to pay-TV customers in 2009. This is the preliminary finding of a study conducted by UK-based IMS Research’s “The World Market for Set-top Boxes and iDTVs” which is slated to be released soon.
As per the research report, the top five STB manufacturers for 2009 are: Pace, Motorola, Technicolor (formerly Thomson), Scientific Atlanta/Cisco, and Humax.
“Motorola’s position is attributed to its leadership in the cable sector whilst Technicolor’s focus and leadership continues to be in the satellite sector,” the report clarifies.
Last year Pace was in third place behind US-based Motorola and French company Technicolor. But Pace has notched the top spot with a 31 per cent increase in shipments over the year ago period.
The co-author of the study Rebecca Kurlak says, “Pace’s position as the 2009 market share leader can not only be attributed to the company’s December 2007 acquisition of Philips’ STB business, but also due to the company’s continued organic growth. The Philips division, now Pace France, operates as a division that focuses on IP, DTT and linear TV services. This additional facility has allowed Pace’s headquarters in England to remain focused on traditional TV platforms and NDS CAS clients.”
For 2010, IMS Research expects Pace to remain in the top ranking position due to its recent partnership announcements of high definition roll outs for Benelux satellite operator M7 Group and Malaysian satellite operator Astro, in addition to its large contract agreements with DirecTV, UPC and Viasat.
IMS Research‘s report also says the market for STBs is notching up healthy growth as newer nations ramp up to digital. It has estimated that STB shipments grew 15.2 percent year-on-year on a global basis from 2008 to 2009.
The study provides detailed analysis of STB shipments and revenues for 68 countries – and is considered to be the most comprehensive report on the market.
TV households are split by region, country, platform, operator, and digital penetration rate. STB shipments and revenues are broken down by SD/HD picture quality, one-way/two-way data receiving, and by DVR functionality. The report will be published by the end of May 2010.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
